Marketing · 14 recordsWrite a press release

Press releases fail because they announce something nobody outside the company cares about, and then get sent to everybody. This finds the angle a journalist would actually write about, puts it in the standard release format, builds a short media list of people who cover the subject, and sends personal pitches with one follow-up rather than a blast.

Install this templateSee the others

Free on any plan. You will see this list again in the app, and nothing is created until you press install.

✦ Everything it creates

The whole plan, before you install it

Goal

Coverage from the journalists who matter Week 4

A real story, a short list, and personal pitches.

Find the story and write it Day 10

Why a reader would care, before the format.

  • Write the one sentence a journalist would put in a headlineDo firstDay 2
  • Gather the facts, a quote and any imagesDo firstDay 5
  • Draft the release in the standard formatDo firstDay 7
  • Get it checked for accuracy and approvedDo firstDay 9

Pitch it Week 4

Twenty right people, not two hundred.

  • Build a list of journalists who cover this subjectDo firstDay 8
  • Write a personal pitch for each, two or three linesDo firstDay 11
  • Send the pitches, under embargo if it is time-sensitiveDo firstDay 13
  • Follow up once, a few days laterWeek 2
  • Record what ran, and who replied, for next timeWeek 4
✦ It puts something in the calendar

Dates you will not have to remember

Press release goes out

Week 208:0030 min
✦ It comes with a note

Press release format

HEADLINE: the news, in plain words City, date: the first paragraph answers who, what, when, where and why Second paragraph: why it matters, with a key fact or figure Quote: from a named person, saying something a journalist could not have written themselves Supporting detail: availability, pricing, background About: two or three sentences on the organisation Media contact: name, email, phone

End the release with ###. Keep it to a page.

Questions

Write a press release, answered.

A headline, a dateline with the city and date, a first paragraph that answers who, what, when, where and why, a quote, supporting detail, a short boilerplate about the organisation, and contact details. The note in this plan lays it out to fill in.
Send it to a short list of people who already cover the subject, with a personal two or three line pitch in the email body explaining why it matters to their readers. A release attached to a mass email is usually deleted unread.
Early in the week and early in the day tends to work better than Friday afternoon. For anything time-sensitive, pitch journalists a week or so ahead under embargo, so they have time to write before the news is public.
✦ More templates

Other systems you can install

Install it and start this evening

It takes one press. Everything it creates is tagged, so if it turns out not to suit you, it is easy to find and remove together.

Install this template